Closing nights at Duke's
by wittleblonde42
Summary: A modern day story of Katniss and Peeta. Gale and Katniss work the night shift bartending at Duke's. Peeta lives with them and they've been a group of three for years. Katniss is getting over a breakup and Peeta is searching for love.
1. Chapter 1

The roar of my car's engine came to a stop as I turned it off in the parking spot right in front of Duke's. I stepped out of the black chevelle and grabbed my bag before locking it up and heading into work. Duke's was still slow when I entered, the nighttime rush hadn't even begun to start. I walked through the small dining room that was already closed for the day, only the bar and cocktail area remained open. Prim flashed me a smile as she ran by carrying a pitcher of beer and a few chilled glasses. The cooks all danced and sang along to 'Call Me Maybe.' Their night has yet to being, just like my own. I laughed as I walked through the kitchen to the employee bathrooms, the light flickered on as I entered the small room. My reflection stared back at me, grey eyes behind thick black rimmed glasses looked into the reflection of my grey eyes. Long, thick brown hair flowed down to the middle of my back, I grabbed all of my hair and tied it up into a bun. The grey clock on my wrist read 6:52, eight more minutes until I have to get behind the bar. After tucking my black polo that read Duke's into the high-waisted black skirt I was sporting I headed back to the kitchen. I clocked into the micro at exactly seven o'clock, seven hours until I would be closing up the bar.

I walked behind the bar and saw Gale flirting it up with a young red headed girl sitting at the bar, I quietly laughed at the social butterfly. The familiar noise of a ticket printing caught my attention. I grabbed the ticket and placed it on the service bar, it read: Prim, table 101, Vodka Tonic Rocks. I grabbed the bottle of well vodka and poured one ounce of it into the short glass that was filled with ice, after topping it off with tonic water and a squeeze of lime. Prim walked up to the service bar as I tossed the lime into the glass and stuck the ticket to the wet glass.

"Thanks, Kat," she said as she tossed the ticket into the trash and walked towards her table. I remember being eighteen and a cocktail server like Prim. Mom had both of us start hosting at the family restaurant, named after her father, the day we turned sixteen. By the time Prim started hosting I was already a cocktail server and patiently waiting to turn twenty-one and start bartending. Mom put me behind the bar the night I turned twenty-one. The minute it hit midnight, making it my twenty-first-birthday, I was grabbed by my mother and she had me start working service bar, making drinks for the servers in the cocktail area. A year had passed since that day and Prim was finally a cocktail server and I was still a closing bartender with Gale.

Gale made his rounds on the bartop, getting various drinks for the guests sitting at the bar. The bar was becoming full of people and my mother turned up the music, just like she did every night when we started to get a rush of people. Regulars sat on the bar top and called me over, I joked with the familiar people who had become my friends over the years. The hours seemed to fly by, my half an hour break came and went. Around one in the morning quite a few people had left but the regulars remained in the bar, singing along to music and making jokes. A head of blonde curls caught my eyes, the man sat down at the bar and put his face in his hands.

"I'm guessing your date didn't go to well, considering you're here without the blonde that you left the apartment with," Gale said to Peeta.

"You're a fantastic guesser, Mr. Hawthorne," Peeta said giving Gale an annoyed look. I poured a tall Blue Moon and walked over to the guys.

"You've gotta stop going for the high-maintenance blondes, Pete," I said putting the beer in front of him. He put his hand around the beer and raised it to his lips taking a gulp.

"Katie is not high-maintenance, she just said she isn't ready for a relationship."

"Why do you even want a relationship?" Gale asked him.

"Because unlike you, I like dating the same girl and seeing where things go."

"Sluts are easy to find and I can get rid of them when I please" Gale smirked, I snickered and Peeta shot me a dirty look.

"Don't look at me like that, you know exactly how I feel about relationships."

"Yeah, you agree with Gale."

"I do not agree with Gale, well I mean it is easier when there isn't any attachment, but I just rather not date anyone. It's a waste of my time and honestly why would I even need to date, my best friends are two guys and they just happen to be my two roommates."

"Katniss, you're such a liar. You know the only reason you don't date or even hookup with guys is because of Anthony."

"Shut up, I hate you." I said quickly while glaring at Gale, Peeta muffled a chuckle.

"Katniss, I told you he was bad news since the day you two started dating."

"I know, but I was in puppylove and then he cheated on me…"

"And you gave him a black eye," Peeta said letting out a hearty laugh, Gale joined in on the laughter.

"He deserved it," I said glaring at the two men.

"We never said he didn't," Gale grinned.

"Well in conclusion to this discussion, Anthony has been out of my life for a month and I never want to see his stupid face again, Gale likes sluts and Peeta can't get a girlfriend."

"Shut up, I can get a girlfriend," Peeta said.

"You wish, Mellark," I said smirking at him, his blue eyes glared at me. The last hour of work went by quickly, the regulars left around two. Gale and I started to clean up the bar, covering all of the bottles and putting the cut up fruit we didn't use into the fridge with labels. My mother had turned off the music and already headed home, leaving the keys with Gale and I. Prim was wiping down the high bar tables and stools and Rory was sweeping the floors. Peeta stood by the jukebox looking through the thousands of songs programmed onto the machine.

My mind was going through all of the closing duties as I quietly moved through the bar completing them. This was my favorite moment of work, when everyone had left just leaving my friends and sister in the bar. I knew Prim loved these moments too, it was her chance to talk to Rory, Gale's younger brother who was just nineteen. She had a crush on the boy since she started hosting with him in the day time when the dining area of the restaurant is open. Prim's blue eyes lit up when he talked to her and her cheeks became a rosy pink color when he complimented her. Gale nudged me with his elbow and nodded towards our younger siblings, Prim was leaning on a bar table and Rory stood across from her grinning. They were close enough to kiss, but I knew they wouldn't. He whispered something to her and tapped her nose, she smiled and her eyes sparkled, his grey eyes never left her. I smiled and continued to clean the bar top, wiping sticky alcohol off.

Peeta walked over to the sound system and turned the music up as loud as it could go, suddenly Beers Ago blasted through the speakers. I smirked as the country music filled the bar, Peeta grabbed Prim and began to twirl her around the bar, she giggled and followed his lead. Rory watched the two and Gale and I continued to clean. The song got close to the chorus and when it got there we all started to yell the lyrics.

"And we spent what little bit of money we had  
On wintergreen Skoal and main street gas  
Go get your girl, go make the drag  
If you're lucky you can take her cross the rail road tracks  
Where the man in the moon works his magic  
On the second runner up of the 4H pageant  
Seems like yesterday, even though  
That was fourteen hundred and fifty two beers ago!"

I laughed as we all went back to working like nothing had just happened, Peeta continued to dance with Prim and sing along to the song. He pushed country music on Gale and I all the time and we were to the point where we enjoyed some of the songs, Peeta was convinced he would get us to be as obsessed with it as he is. When the song had ended Peeta turned the music back off and sat down at the bar again, everything was almost clean. Gale grabbed five bottles of Shocktop before grabbing the keys to close up. We walked outside and Gale locked up the restaurant, Peeta walked over to his steel grey Silverado and let the tailgate down. Prim and I hopped up onto the tailgate, Rory and Peeta stood across from us and Gale walked over to us. The weather is warm enough to be comfortable without a jacket, it is a July Saturday night in California though. Gale handed each of us a beer and I grabbed my keys, using the bottle opener to pop the cap off of my beer and Prim's.

"I swear Prim, if you ever tell mom that we let you drink with us after work I will have Gale beat the pretty out of you," I said and Gale chuckled.

"I will beat you ugly," Gale smiled at Prim, she laughed and took a swig of the beer.

"I missed Saturday nights at Duke's," Peeta said.

"Yeah, you left us to P-lot without you cause you were all into that bimbo Katie," Rory said.

"Katie is not a bimbo and what is P-lot?" Peeta asked confused.

"This is P-lotting it. We drink beer and sit in the parking lot on Saturday nights because we just got off of work, we don't work tomorrow cause only the dining area is open on Sundays, and we have nothing else to do but spend quality time together," Rory grinned.

"Oh and Peeta," Prim said, smirking at the man, "Katie is a bimbo, get over it." I laughed and pushed the beer onto my lips letting the cool liquid flow into my throat. The night slowly began to turn into the morning, the sun wasn't up in the sky yet, but the darkness of night starting to become lighter. We tossed the beer bottles away and all headed home. Rory took Prim home since her car was currently in the shop. I started my chevelle and the engine roared to life, Peeta and Gale got into their trucks and I followed to two back to our house. One by one we parked and walked to the door, I opened it and the guys walked in behind me. They both plopped onto the couch and surrendered to sleep almost instantly, filling the living room with their snores. I changed into a pair of boxers I had stolen from one of them and a t-shirt, I laid in my bed but couldn't sleep. The sheets of my bed taunted me, reminding me of Anthony and all of the nights he had slept next to me in them. I made a mental note to get rid of the sheets and buy some new one that weren't attached to any memories of the man I thought I loved. The first man I fully let into my life, I let myself become vulnerable with him. I tossed and turned in the bed and as the morning slowly went by my stomach was starting to feel nauseous. My stomach continued to knot and swirl around as I tried my hardest to fall asleep.


	2. Chapter 2

The bright morning sun turned into the afternoon and I found myself still tossing and turning in my bed. Snoring still came from the living room, telling me that both the boys are still sleeping. I rolled out of my bed and walked towards the bathroom, my stomach turned and I felt the insides of it start coming up my throat. The contents of my stomach were emptied into the toilet, leaving the toilet water a yellowish color from the beer I had drank and the acid in my stomach. A groan escaped from my mouth as I laid my back against the wall next to the toilet. My stomach heaved again and I gagged into the toilet. An hour passed and my stomach stayed swaying within my body, leaving me nauseous.

Someone knocked on the door, "Katniss, you all right in there?" Gale's voice asked through the door.

"Yeah, just bowing down to the porcelain god."

He let out a small laugh, "What did you eat yesterday?"

"Good question, all I know it that it definitely isn't in my body anymore."

"Well me and Pete are gonna go to the grocery store, we kinda have no food in this place," he laughed.

"Okay, I'll just stay in the bathroom."

"We'll pick up some Gatorade for you."

"Thank you."

I heard Gale's truck start outside through the bathroom window and pull out of the driveway. My stomach stayed nauseous and I laid on the cool bathroom tile. My eyes looked around the bathroom, the walls were still the original white color as when we first moved in. We had planned to paint the bathroom, but every time we attempted to paint a room we found more paint on ourselves then on the walls. My lips curved into a small smile at the memory of painting Peeta's room. Gale had left to buy a new roller cause we lost the other one, when he returned with it Peeta grabbed a paint brush and stroked it down Gale's face. He did it so naturally and then continued to paint the wall like nothing happened, at that point I exploded into a fit of laughter and Gale responded by throwing a paintbrush covered in paint at me. Within minutes all three of us were covered in paint and the walls remained half done.

A wave of nausea came over me and I rested my hand on my stomach. Nothing remained in my stomach so there was no point in getting up to puke anymore. Suddenly all I wanted was Anthony, I wanted him to tie my hair back and gently run his fingers up and down my arms like he had done so many other times when I was sick. Whenever I came down with anything, he was there to take care of me. I quickly made the want for him leave my mind, he cheated on me. He went and found a new girl and continued to string me along, he knew I loved him and trusted him. My trust was taken for granted, he told me lies about where he was and I believed him. I believed him over Peeta and Gale, I was blinded by the puppy love I felt for him.

I lost track of time as I laid on the bathroom floor. Eventually I decided that I needed to get up and do something with my day. I began by emptying the trash can in the bathroom, when I opened the cabinet under the sink to grab the trash can a box of tampons fell onto the floor. The box was still full, I thought about how long it had been since I bought the box. My habit was to buy a box of tampons after one ran out roughly two weeks before I should start my next period. My mind counted the weeks since I had roughly bought the box, somehow I felt like it had been almost five weeks since I bought the box.

It can't be that long since I bought it, if it has been that long that would mean I'm really late and I'm rarely late. How long had it been since I broke up with Anthony? How long had it been since I ran out of birth control? My mind frantically searched for the answers to those questions. I ran out of birth control about a week before I ended things with Anthony. Did I sleep with him during the week I was out of birth control? I thought back to the week, I closed at Duke's five nights that week, like usual. Anthony had come into the bar late one night so he could P-lot with us. I drank three beers and went to Anthony's house to spend the night. We had a few more beers at his house and he started kissing me with such passion. Passion that our relationship had lost months ago and I slept with him. My stomach dropped at the realization that we did sleep with each other during that week.

I hid my fear from Peeta and Gale, I told them that it was the flu and I just needed to sleep it off. The next day Peeta left early in the morning for work, he wanted to stop by his family's bakery before he had to be at work. It was a habit of his to have coffee with his father on Monday mornings before he headed off for a long day. Gale stayed at home with me, he didn't start work until seven tonight and I started at six. My room became my safe place for the day, I tried to avoid Gale and he left me alone for the most part. He assumed I needed to rest a bit before I had work since I had the "flu." Please let me have the flu.

I slipped on my tights and skirt around five. Next I pulled on my Duke's polo and headed towards the drug store. My hands shakily grabbed a box containing a pregnancy test, after paying for the test I shoved the box into my bag and headed towards the familiar restaurant. Haymitch was just leaving, he always managed during the day shift. He liked working with the host and dining room servers, it was less hectic.

"Have a good night tonight, kid" he said grinning as he held the door open for me.

"Thanks, Haymitch," I said forcing a smile.

Prim walked by me and smiled, but frowned when she saw my expression. "What's wrong?" she asked, her eyes searching mine for answers. "I need mom," I choked out. Prim grabbed my hand and led me to the managers' office. My mother sat at the computer typing in something.

"Hey beautiful" she said smiling at me.

"Mom, I'm scared" I said on the verge of tears.

"Katniss, what's wrong?" she said quickly standing up and putting her hands on my arms. Prim continued to hold my hand.

"I think I'm pregnant," I whispered. I saw her face drop, she knows I've slept with guys before, but that isn't something a mother wants to admit to herself, that her daughter is participating in activities that could leave her as a single mother. Prim's hand tightened around mine, in shock.

"Do you have a pregnancy test?" she said calmly. I nodded and pulled out the small box from my purse.

"Well I guess we should find out if you really are pregnant or not."

I headed towards the bathroom and took the test, I quickly returned to the office that my mom and Prim waited for me in. I sat on Prim's lap and laid my head on her shoulder, my eyes were watery and my mind was racing. Prim wrapped her arms around me and put her chin on top of my head, for being my little sister she knew how to make me feel better. We both felt too old to curl up on our mother's lap for comfort and always looked to each when we needed to be coddled. My mother watched the clock, waiting for the moment we could look at the test. When the time finally came, I hid my face in Prim's shoulder and my stomach knotted. I heard my mother grab the test, my eyes shut tightly waiting for her to tell me.

"Is it Anthony's?" she asked quietly. I nodded and the tears spilled over, they ran freely down my cheeks.

"It'll be okay Katniss," Prim whispered to me.

"No it's not," I cried, "I'm pregnant with Anthony's baby and he cheated on me. I'm twenty-two. I can't have a baby."


	3. Chapter 3

My mother decided to call in Patrice, one of our other bartenders, to come in and work for me. After sitting in the office for what seemed like forever, I finally stood up to sneak out of the restaurant. I quietly walked through the dining area, making sure to avoid everyone I know. After sneaking out I sat in my car and just stayed. It was as if I couldn't move. My body suddenly weighed a ton, my arms laid limp in my lap. How could I be pregnant? What am I going to do? There is no way I can have a baby, I can't afford a baby. I need to tell Anthony.

I robotically drove home, not even paying attention to my surroundings. Everything I seemed to do for the rest of the day seemed mechanically. My emotions have become numb. I'm pregnant with Anthony's baby. Could I even love a baby that looked like Anthony? How am I going to tell Anthony? It's not like I can just call him up and say you're gonna be a dad. My thoughts were interrupted when the door opened up, Peeta walked into the house.

"I thought you worked tonight?" he said looking at me curiously. My eyes remained red and my cheeks are still tear stained.

"I was supposed to," I choked out.

"Katniss, what's wrong?" he asked as he sat down on the couch next to me. I just shook my head in response, I couldn't even spit the words out. "Katniss, please tell me." Again I shook my head in response and my eyes began to fill with tears. Peeta pulled me next to him and wrapped his arms around me. I buried my face into his chest to hide my tears, a shaky breath filled my lungs as they spilled over. My face stayed hidden as he gently ran his hand up and down my back to soothe me. Somehow Peeta always found a way to comfort me, he knows the times he needs to talk and he knows when I just need to be held. The only noise I made was sniffling into Peeta's shirt. When the tears stopped I slowly pulled away, Peeta's ocean blue eyes sympathetically stared into mine. I wiped my eyes and put my head into my hands. "Katniss, what's going on?"

"I… I'm… pregna-" I couldn't even finish the word, tears started to run down my cheeks again.

"You're pregnant?" Peeta asked as he closed his eyes, trying to take in the information.

"Yeah," I whispered.

"And it's Anthony's?"

"Mhm."

"Oh, Katniss," he said pulling me into a hug, "It'll be okay. Everything will be okay."

"It's not going to be okay, I'm going to have Anthony's baby."

"I promise, everything will be okay," he said holding me tighter.

A few weeks had passed and the guys have been taking care of me. My morning sickness is the worst right when I wake up. My lower stomach felt harder than it used to, constantly reminding me that in a matter of months I would have a baby to take care of. Prim decided to go to all of my doctor's appointments with me, since I had no one else to go with. The guys offered to go with me, but the thought of them coming with me for all of the baby stuff feels wrong to me. I want them to experience all of this when they are with a girl they care about and the baby belongs to them, not experience it with me who's terrified and hasn't even talked to the father yet.

My stomach seems to be constantly sore, like I just did an intense ab workout. I tried to keep my complaints quiet, not wanting to bug the guys about everything. Prim and I headed off to the hospital to get an ultrasound done. I sat in the office, my legs couldn't stop shaking as I awaited my name. When my name was called Prim grabbed my hand and we followed the nurse together into a room. The doctor came in and the appointment went smoothly. During the ultrasound Prim and I heard the baby's heartbeat, suddenly everything felt more real. After the appointment I found out that I am eight weeks pregnant.

As I got ready for work I began to feel excited. I found myself wanting to tell Gale and Peeta that I'm eight weeks, I wanted to tell them I heard the baby's heartbeat. It was if I started to want the baby growing inside of me, with or without Anthony I wanted it. I still need to tell Anthony but I don't need him if I want to keep the baby. Somehow things will work out, everything would eventually work out.

The night went smoothly at Duke's, Gale could tell I was in a better mood. I was smiling and having fun with the regulars again. It was if nothing had changed, except the whole I'm pregnant thing. Peeta came in around midnight and sat at the bar top. I poured him a Blue Moon as always and handed the glass to him. "You're in a good mood," he said taking a sip of the beer.

"I am in a good mood," I smiled.

"And why is that?"

"Prim and I discovered that I am eight weeks and we heard his heartbeat."

"His?"

"Well, I don't know what it is yet. But I think it's a he."

"Are you excited about it now?"

"I can't change anything. I'm going to have a baby so I might as well accept it. I can be miserable or I can be happy. So I choose to be happy."

"It's good to have my Katniss back," Peeta smiled.

Even though it was twelve thirty the bar was still busy. People were piling into the bar ordering drinks. Gale was being a social butterfly at the opposite end of the bar with a bunch of girls, Peeta watched, amused by our friend. I scanned the bar and my eyes found themselves looking at a pair of icy cold blue eyes. My stomach dropped and my hand found its way to my stomach. The broad shouldered, dark haired man walked towards me with a young blonde girl in tow. Her dress showed everything and makeup was piled onto her face. I glared into the icy blue eyes.

"Hi, Katniss," he said with a grin.

"What are you doing here, Anthony?" I spat.

"Getting drinks. Nicole wanted to come here, so here we are."

"You really had to take her here? There are numerous bars and you choose the one I work at? Really?"

"Am I not allowed to come here?"

"I wouldn't step foot in here if I was you. You cheated on me."

"You're still mad about that?"

"No, Anthony I'm completely fine with the fact that you cheated on me," I said and my voice became louder. Gale was still flirting with the girls on the other end of the bar and Peeta was gone, most likely in the bathroom.

"Come on Katniss, we can be friends."

"No we can't be friends. You cheated on me for who knows how long. You turned my world upside down for what? For some stupid girls that have nothing better to do but be home wreckers."

"Home wreckers? Really?" the little blonde said looking at me with daggers.

"Yeah, home wreckers."

"For your information, Miss Bartender, your relationship with him was over way before I even came along. He didn't have any feelings for you for months," she spat. I suddenly felt nauseous; this was the girl he cheated on me with. She helped destroy my relationship with Anthony.

"Well thank you for showing me who the true Anthony is. I'm sure he'll cheat on you too."

"He loves me. He won't do anything like that. Right baby?" she said looking at Anthony. He didn't respond, it was as if he was in shock that a tiff had started.

"Oh he will cheat on you and maybe you'll end up single and pregnant too," I said and quickly covered my mouth as my eyes widened. My temper allowed my secret to slip right out of my lips. Anthony stared at me for what seemed like forever.

"Are you serious?" he asked, I nodded. I saw Peeta walking over to us, he instantly saw Anthony and glared. "Who's baby is it," Anthony asked.

"Are you serious!" I yelled.

"Well I can promise you it's not mine, I barely touched you the last few months we dated. So obviously you cheated on me," I felt anger tears prick at my eyes, Peeta looked at me in shock and Gale had come up behind me.

"Get out," Gale said spitting venom at Anthony, "And take the blonde with you."

Anthony grabbed the blonde, she shot me one last dirty look before walking out the door with him. I closed my eyes tightly together and walked out of the bar and through the kitchen. The cooks were busy working, whipping up wings and French fries. After getting to the employee bathroom I leaned against the wall and slouched to the floor. My body shook with anger and a few watery tears escaped, my head fell into my hands as numerous thoughts overtook my mind.

My baby really wouldn't have a father, he'd never have someone to call Daddy. I'd be a single parent, just me by myself. Who even wants to date a girl with a baby? How am I going to afford a baby? Who's going to watch the baby while I'm working at night? My excitement was gone again, replaced with fear. I can't have a baby, I really can't have a baby. The bathroom door opened and Peeta sat down against the wall next to me. He placed my head on his shoulder and took my hand in his. Once again he made me feel better without any words, he knew me like the back of his hand.

"Katniss, you're going to be okay. You're both going to be okay. Go back to being excited and stop worrying. Stressing yourself out the way you are can't be good for the baby, okay?" he said calmly.

"I can't do this."

"You can do this and you will do this. You're going to be a fantastic mother."

"But I can't be a mother and a father," I whispered, "My baby is going to need a dad. I can't do this alone."

"Katniss, I will be whatever you need me to be, okay? I will do whatever you need me to do. I promise you, I'm not going anywhere. I've been your person since we were five and I'm going to remain your person. No matter what. And you know Gale will be there just as much as me, there is no way we're ever going to let you get stuck between a rock and a hard place, I promise." He softly said to me and kissed me on the top of my head.


	4. Chapter 4

Before I knew it July ended and August was coming to a close. Which means soon I will be roughly three months pregnant. My tight slightly round abdomen is a constant reminder that there will eventually be a baby to take care of. My nerves are still there when I think about the little person growing inside of me, but I know I want it. I want to hold it tight and kiss it when it's here, I already love it. Working night shifts at Duke's has become harder though, it's like my body can't handle being up that late, no matter how long I sleep in. My mother decided to switch me over to a day cocktail server, which means I no longer get to work with Prim, Gale and Rory. Now I work with the hosts, dining area servers, daytime bartenders and Haymitch. I forgot how grumpy that old man is, especially when something isn't running smoothly.

I got out of my car, after parking it on the driveway. It's a strange feeling to get home from work and still see the sun shining. My car's black paint shined in the sunlight, I ran my fingertips over the smooth hood of the car. When I have the baby there is no way I'll be able to keep driving this car, but there is no way I can get rid of this car. My dad gave it to me, it was his until the day he died. He always told my mother that if something happened to him the car would be mine. There are too many memories attached to it to ever give it up. Someone would need to keep the car and I would just end up getting a new one. The corners of my mouth turned into a slight frown at the thought of getting a 'mom' car.

My small house seems so cold and uninviting when no one is home. I wonder if Peeta feels like this when he gets off of work, coming home to an empty house. After slipping out of my work clothes I got into the shower. The warm water ran over my body soothing my aching muscles. After getting out of the shower I put on a pair of sweat pants and a tank top. My hair laid down my back, getting my shirt wet. I watched half of an episode of Friends before falling asleep.

I was awaken by the front door opening, I lazily opened my eyes and saw Peeta walk in. He grinned at me and said, "Goodmorning sleeping beauty." I rolled my eyes and closed them again, as my stomach filled with butterflies at the sound of his voice. Somehow within a matter of weeks I've become having feelings for Peeta. More than I usually have. I've always been attracted to the broad shouldered man, but never voiced it. I felt like I was in high school again, crushing on the football player, just like I actually did in high school. But in high school there were numerous girls who found themselves captivated by the blue eyed young man and they were much prettier. I was simply the best friend who he came to with girl problems, just like he still does.

Then there's Gale, who was a junior in high school and befriended freshman Peeta. Within a matter of weeks Gale tagged along with Peeta and I and it's been that way since. The only difference with Gale is I've always willingly helped him find a girl and helped with his girl problems, because deep down I don't have feelings for Gale. Peeta is a completely different story, sometimes I wish he'd just find the perfect girl so I could put my feelings for him in a box and leave them there forever. But he finds the worst girls and I can't help but find ways to get rid of them. I felt the couch shift from the weight of Peeta sitting next to me. My eyes fluttered open and saw he is packing a suitcase with clean folded clothing. "Why are you packing?" I asked.

"It'll be September in a few days, Kat. You know what that means." I frowned at the realization that September means Peeta will be gone for a month, just like every other September.

"Oregon, huh?" I said already knowing that he is packing to go there.

"As always," he grinned, "I think Terry is ready to head back home, he said August has been ridiculously busy with all of the things going on out there."

"What do you do out there exactly?"

"Basically play boss man of the dairy. It makes me wonder how my grandparents did it for so long. There are so many people to pay and you've gotta make sure everything is going to where it needs to be, but I love it. It's like being home again."

"What do you mean?"

"Every summer since I was seven I go out there. I'd stay with my grandparents, brothers and cousins. We'd spend at least a month out there all together and it never got old. It's not the exact same anymore, since my grandpa isn't there anymore, but that's why my cousins and I make sure one of us is there at all times to help Nana and take care of everything. Joy is gonna be out there when I go this time though, Terry is gonna leave when I get there."

"Joy is Terry's little sister, right?"

"Yeah, they're my uncle's kids."

"When do you leave?"

"Tomorrow."

"Tomorrow!"

"I know, I started packing way too late," he laughed.

"I'm gonna be all kinds of lonely when you're gone. No one will be here with me on nights. I'll work all day and Gale will work all night," I frowned.

"Ask Prim to stay with you or see if Danny wants to come for a bit."

"Yeah I'll see if they want to."

Within a matter of hours after talking to Peeta I was in bed ready to go to sleep. I called Prim and asked her to stay with me for the month and she agreed. Danny said she'd come by at least once a week to hang out, her job as a modeling agent keeps her pretty busy. Danny has been my best girl friend since high school. We see each other a few times a month, when our schedules work.

The warm sunlight laid on my back as I opened my eyes and turned to the clock. It read ten which means Peeta is already on a plane headed to Oregon, I frowned. My door opened and in walked Prim. She got into my bed with me and pulled the covers over her. I gave her a playful glare and she stuck her tongue out at me.

"So how are you feelin'?" she asked.

"Alright, I guess. I'm used to the feeling of morning sickness," I lightly chuckled.

"Sounds, horrible."

"You have no idea. Being pregnant sucks. Not having a man and being pregnant sucks even more."

"Do you want the baby?"

"More than you can imagine."

"Really?"

"Really. I can't imagine giving it to someone else to take care of."

"Good, cause I want my little niece or nephew," she smiled. I heard the door open and a familiar voice yelled, "KITTY KAT! I'M HOME!" my eyes widened and I looked over at Prim.

"DANNY!" we yelled in unison. Suddenly Prim was out of my bed and so was I. Prim barreled down the stairs with me on her tail. My legs moved as fast as they could and suddenly I was tripping over my own feet and tumbling down the last few steps of the stairs. I heard Danny and Prim's muffled screams and then everything went black.


	5. Chapter 5

My eyes fluttered open and I looked around the room. It's white and plain, just like a hospital. Then my thoughts came to me, I fell down the stairs, I started to panic as I wondered what happened to me. My head pounded as I searched the room for anyone, instinctively my hand found my abdomen and rested on it. I noticed that no longer was it tough and slightly swollen, once again it was soft like it had been before I got pregnant. A choked breath escaped from between my lips and my eyes welled with tears threatening to escape. The door opened up and in walked Prim and Danny followed her, they both held coffees.

"Hey," Danny whispered, as her eyes looked into mine. Her eyes showed that she was worried about me.

"He's gone, huh?" I mumbled while looking at my stomach and then back at them. Prim nodded at me and a tear escaped, it rolled down my cheek.

"I'm sorry, love," Danny said sitting next to me and resting her hand on my shoulder.

"Me too."

"It just wasn't meant to be."

"I know," I whispered. I touched my head and the aching heightened.

"Those stairs beat you up pretty good."

"I can imagine they did with how sore I feel."

I had to stay in the hospital for just a night while machines monitored me. A hole found a spot in my heart as I imagined what could have been. Everything was beginning to be okay, I was becoming okay with being pregnant and now the baby is gone. My body cramped constantly because of the miscarriage and each time it began to hurt it was just another reminder that I wasn't going to have a baby anymore.

The next day Prim took me home, we sat in the living room and watched cheesy movies. She hoped it would cheer me up, but it didn't. The knowledge of some little person making a home for itself in your body in order to grow changes you, you start trying to take care of it even though you can't see it. You can only feel it and now the feeling is gone, it's gone. Before I got pregnant I never really wanted to have kids, but after being given the chance to and having it taken away I want them. I want to have someone who will love me unconditionally just like I will always love them. I want to have a baby, only I want it to have a dad. My ringing phone brought me out of my thoughts, I automatically answered it.

"Hello," I said without any emotion.

"Are you okay?" his voice asked on the other end of the line.

"No," I whispered.

"I wish I was at home."

"Why?"

"Cause you're hurt and I can't do anything about it."

"Pete, there isn't anything anyone can do about it. No one can fix it. Clumsy me lost the baby that I originally didn't want and now I can't imagine I never wanted it," I said as my body began to shake with silent crys.

"I'm sorry."

"Me too," I cried. I wanted to hang up the phone and end our conversation. Having Peeta try to comfort me made me feel uncomfortable, I wanted him to not care. I'm just his friend, that's all he's made me and when he tries to take care of me I want more. Wanting more from him will only result in me getting hurt.

"Katniss, come here with me."

"Ha."

"Really, I think it'd be good for you. You'll be away from everything."

"You want me to go to Oregon."

"Yes."

"Bye."

"Katniss, come on."

"I'll talk to you later, Peeta."

A week passed and somehow I was talked into going to Oregon. Gale agreed that I needed to be away from everything. He pushed me to go out to Oregon with Peeta, he never pushes me to do anything. So I gave in. My plane landed in the small airport in Eugene, I walked off of it and through the airport to the baggage claim. After retrieving my luggage I searched the airport for the familiar blue eyed man, only I couldn't find him. I noticed a petite dark haired girl, the waves of her hair fell loosely down her back. She turned around and striking blue eyes looked into my grey ones. The corners of her mouth turned up into a smiled as she made her way towards me, she had a phone pressed up to her ear.

"I found her," she smiled, "Yes, I'll be home in about an hour. Bye." She hung up and stuck a hand out towards me. "I'm Joy Mellark," she smiled, "I have this feeling that you're Katniss."

"That I am," I said giving her a small smile and shaking her hand.

"I'm sure you expected to find my horrid cousin here to pick you up, but I assure you that having me pick you up is the much better choice."

I followed Joy to the truck parked in the lot outside of the airport. She tossed my luggage in the bed and hopped in the driver seat, I sat next to her in the passenger seat. Once getting off of the freeway I was greeted with numerous fields filled with different fruits and vegetables as well as the most gorgeous hills I had ever seen. Few buildings could be found by my eyes, and something inside of me became more calm at the sight of everything around me. We drove through a small town that Joy informed me is the closes town to the dairy and the town takes twenty minutes to get to.

Joy also told me about the dairy and how it's the most wonderful place around. Her Nana has lived on it since she married and refuses to let anything happen to it. The beautiful girl was so natural around me, no awkward feeling filled the truck, everything was right. Her blue eyes sparkled as she told me more about the dairy. She also informed me that having Peeta on the dairy with her makes it so much better because he is her favorite cousin. I had heard Peeta tell stories about Joy, he could never stop smiling when he talked about her. She was the only one in his family born the same year as him and they've always had a special bond.

We drove down a long dirt road in I could see a house and numerous barns in the distance, the closer we got the more butterflies filled my stomach. I was excited to finally see the place Peeta could never get enough of. Joy made a right turn in an opening in a white fence, to the left stood a large sign that read "Mellark Dairy." To the right numerous white little hutches sat in rows, a small black and white calf occupied each little hutch. She slowed the truck down and parked in front of the gated house. We both got out and I followed her through the gate to the house. A large brown dog greeted me with a wagging tail, I patted him on the head and Joy told me that Slater is the friendliest dog alive.

Inside of the house I was greeted by a small old woman who wore thick rimmed glasses and pink slippers. Her blues eyes are identical to Joy and Peeta's and around her eyes show wrinkles that she gained from smiling for so many years. "I'm Nana," she smiled and pulled me into a hug, "It's so nice to finally meet you,Katniss."

"The pleasure is all mine. Thank you for letting me stay with you."

"I'm sure I'll love having you stay here with me. Peeta is out somewhere on the dairy, he's always busy taking care of something for me."

After being shown to my room I took in my surroundings. Right in front of the house were numerous dairy cows in different pens and barns. The large animals are always eating and mooing. Behind the house is a large gated pasture full of different animals including horses, goats and sheep. People were constantly walking around the dairy doing different things, I wondered how Peeta keeps track of so many employees when he is only here one month out of the year. Slater ran through the yard of the house making sure to greet every employee that came to the door to talk to Nana. I laid down on my bed and closed my eyes as my mind ran wild. Sadness still filled my body, but the excitement of being somewhere new consumed my thoughts. The bedroom door creaked open and I heard a pair of feet walk through the room towards me. My eyes remained closed as my ears listened more intently and my nose took in the smell of the person. It was a familiar scent of spices, but with it was the smell of work and dairy. The person crawled onto the bed and put a hand on each side of my face, while a knee remained on each side of my body. In one swift movement the whole bed moved making my body bounce up.

"Wake up!" Peeta yelled as I landed back on the bed and he kept his stance over me.

"Peeta!" I laughed as he looked down at me smiling.

"Put on some boots cause I'm gonna show you around the dairy," he smiled.

"Okay, crazy, but I don't have boots."

"Lucky you we have a bunch. Follow me," he said still smiling. He leaned down and placed a kiss on my cheek before getting up and motioning for me to follow him.


	6. Chapter 6

My cheek burned where his lips had touched me. It took everything in me to not jump off of the bed and run after him. Slowly I sat up and followed him through the house and to the back door. He smiled and handed me a pair of rubber boots, I took them out of his hands and sat down on the ground to slip them on. His blue eyes stayed focused on me and his lips stayed in a grin. I felt my cheeks burn red, as I kept my hair in front of my face to hide. Butterflies filled my stomach as my thoughts spun in my head, I tried to calm my emotions. I don't want Peeta to know that I still have feelings for him. We're friends, just friends and I need to remember that.

"Come on, Kat," Peeta said as he pulled me up to my feet.

"Where are we going?"

"I'm going to show you around the dairy."

"Okay," I lightly laughed as I followed him outside onto the back deck. We walked out of the gate surrounding the house and to a barn close to the house. I stopped in front of a large four wheeler that was covered in dried up dirt. I looked down at the thing and back up to Peeta. He smirked at me and got onto the vehicle, I glared at him and he patted the back of the seat.

"You want me to get on that? With you?"

"Yup" he smiled.

"Pretty sure you've hurt yourself numerous times on those things."

"Maybe I have, maybe I haven't, but I promise I won't hurt you."

"Fine, Mellark." I said sitting down behind him on the four wheeler. I rested my hands behind myself.

"You know I suggest that you keep your arms around my waist, for your safety."

"For my safety?"

"Yes, your safety."

I slowly put my arms around his waist, making sure to not to get to close to him. He started it and we went around the dairy, through the barns where cows ignored us as they ate. The dairy was surrounded by numerous fields of different produce. We went through a field of trees and ended up coming out of the trees to a small pond. Peeta parked by the small dock and slid off, he grabbed my hand and helped me off. A wooden boat slightly swayed with the wind while it remained tied down. I followed Peeta onto the boat, never saying a word. He got on the boat and untied it, we slowly drifted towards the middle of the pond.

A cool breeze surrounded me as the sun kept my skin warm. Peeta laid on his back in the boat, resting his feet by mine as I sat in the boat. He put his arms behind his head and closed his eyes. I couldn't keep my eyes off of him, the sun hit his blonde curls making them shine. His chest raised and fell as he slightly began to doze off. My face found its way into my hands as I enjoyed the moment of just being content in the middle of a pond with Peeta. A soft snore escaped Peeta's lips, I wonder what time he had to get up today and I bet he hasn't had a break all day.

Peeta's phone ringing woke him up and startled me. He pulled the phone to his ears and answered, "Hello. Yes, Jeff. Sure. Okay, see you tonight." And with that he hung up. I looked questioningly at him, he grinned at me and closed his eyes.

"Who was that?"

"Jeff."

"Jeff?"

"A friend from here, were going out tonight."

"We are?"

"Mhm, me you and Joy. Were gonna meet Jeff."

"Um, okay I guess."

"It'll be fun, Kat."

"I don't know."

"You need to start being happy again and having fun."

"I know," I frowned.

"Katniss, I know you wanted that baby. But it didn't work out, I promise the next time it happens it'll work out."

"I hope so."

"It will."

Before I knew it I was piling into an old bright red ford truck with Joy next to me and Peeta driving. I looked down at the clothes Joy had given me to wear, jean shorts a loose white top and a pair of brown cowboy boots. Her outfit is similar to mine as is Peeta's, his jeans covered the top of his dark brown boots and a flannel covered his under shirt. Within an hour we were pulling up to a large brown building that people were walking in and out of.

We walked into the country bar and I took everything in. In one corner of the room a mechanical bull stood where people stood around it and watched others try to ride it. A bar sat near the entrance and next to it was a door leading out to a patio. In the middle of the room sat a dance floor where people line danced. I followed Peeta and Joy outside to a group of people, the group stood around a table drinking beer. Joy introduced me to most of the group and a girl by the name of Missy stood out to me. She is thin, tall, long blonde hair, a face full of makeup, the exact kind of girl Peeta seems to always bring home. The girl instantly got close to Peeta and began quietly talking to him.

Joy and I walked into the bar again and got a beer, "You've got to help me get Missy away from Peeta. She dated him for a while and has never gotten over him, but he really doesn't care for her."

"He doesn't she seems to be just his type to me though."

"He doesn't know what his type is, but I do."

"And what is his type?" I laughed.

"You." Her answer took me by surprise.

"Me?"

"Peeta talks about you all of the time and when he does he just gets this look in his eyes."

"You're crazy."

"I just know him better than he knows himself," she smiled and pulled me back outside to the group. Missy was laughing at something Peeta said and he looked over at Joy and I and rolled his eyes. Joy whispered something to Jeff and Jeff nodded.

"Pete! Lets' go dance. Joy you be my partner and Katniss, you be Peeta's," he said shoving me into Peeta, Peeta grinned and grabbed my hand. I followed him back inside and onto the floor.

"I don't know how to dance," I whispered to him.

"It's line dancing, every dance has certain steps and you just keep repeating the same steps till the song is over. Lucky you I lead and you just follow."

"Okay," I whispered.

Peeta had me stand in front of him and held each of my hands. The music started and Peeta lead me around on the floor, doing the same steps as the couples around us. Jeff spun Joy twice as much as Peeta spun me. In the middle of the song I started picking up on the steps and Peeta began spinning me around like Jeff was with Joy. We continued to dance for a while and suddenly Missy was next to us about to ask if she could cut in. Before she could finish her sentence Peeta's hands were cupping my face and his lips on mine. I heard her boots stomp off as Peeta's lips remained on mine. I pulled away and looked up at him with my eyebrows raised.

"Thanks for the warning, but I guess you managed to get rid of her," I said grinning, trying to make it seem like I didn't enjoy the quick kiss.

"I've been wanting to do that for the longest time," he whispered in my ear, my cheeks turned beat red and I couldn't stop smiling.


	7. Chapter 7

**So I know I've neglected this for a bit, but I'm back. Thanks for all the feedback you guys continue to give me.**

I could feel the redness in my cheeks get hotter as Peeta's words repeated in my head. He said he wanted to kiss me, he had wanted to kiss me. Peeta wanted to kiss me? Peeta kissed me. I felt his rough hands tighten their grip on my waist, slowly my eyes raised to meet his blue ones. His lips pulled into a crooked grin a few seconds after looking at him, he pulled my hips closer towards him and got close enough to my ear that I could hear him breathe.

"I shouldn't have said that, huh?" Peeta whispered.

"Said what?"

"That I've been wanting to kiss you."

"Why'd you say it?" I asked pulling away from him.

"Because it's true," he said as his cheeks became rosy and he looked down at the floor. I stood and stared at the blonde man in front of me. The one that suddenly turned into a man, at one point he had been my small curly haired best friend with missing teeth. I looked around the room and found Joy's eyes, she gave me a knowing smirk. Before I knew it my body was away from Peeta and I was outside. A single chair sat hidden in a corner, my feet walked to the chair and I sat down leaving my face in my hands.

Is he just lying to me? He had blushed, right? Had he blushed or was that just my mind playing tricks on me, hearing what it wanted. He'd never shown any interest in me before, it was always in someone else. When we hit middle school it seemed that numerous girls had taking a liking to him, they'd giggle and pass notes to him. At lunch he'd show me his notes and laugh about them. I can still see him with a mouth full of metal and a laugh that would crack, every time his voice cracked I'd laugh. Then high school came around and he started giving those girls attention. They'd invite him out to everything and go to all of his football games, making sure to see him after every game. I'd sit and watch those girls while Prim would tell me which ones she thought were pretty. Before I knew it he was dating different girls all the time and coming to me for advice.

After years of giving him advice I shoved my feeling in a box and got rid of them. Hid them away from everyone and one day Anthony appeared. He became my everything and Peeta didn't like him. Peeta hated him, yet Peeta was there for me when Anthony cheated. Peeta let me cry to him when I found out I was pregnant. He told me he'd help me however he could. When I lost the baby he told me to come here.

Then Joy appeared in front of me, hands on her hips. I looked up at her and back down. She looked around and then sat herself on my lap, wrapping her arm around my neck. I laughed a little at her and put my arms around her waist. Some how Joy had already became close to me, like we'd known each other for years.

"You know, there is a blonde man inside of there that's wondering where you went" she said motioning towards the bar.

"A confusing blonde man."

"What's confusing?"

"He kissed me."

"He told me he wanted to kiss you. He told me that years ago, but he was too nervous to tell you."

"What?"

"You heard me."

"What am I supposed to do?"

"Tell him you're in love with him, duh?"

"I am not in love with him."

"Uh, okay," she said getting off of me and back towards Jeff.

I sat on the chair for another minute before going back into the bar in search of Peeta. He was still on the dance floor, leading another girl around the floor. Joy grabbed me and pulled me to the mechanical bull. She informed me the girl Peeta is dancing with is Jeff's sister. We walked onto the blown up floor that surrounded the bull and she sat on it, pulling me behind her. I held onto her as the mechanical thing came to life. We laughed as the operator tried to toss us off. One swift movement sent me flying and I pulled Joy off with me. It seemed like minutes passed as we laughed on the floor and then a pair of arms picked me up and threw me over a shoulder. I looked down the back of the man and recognized the dark jeans as Peeta's. I looked up and saw Joy thrown over Jeff's shoulder, she looked at me and laughed.

"You know most people would be a little concerned if a strange man threw them over his shoulder."

"Good thing I'm not a strange man," his deep voice said.

"That's true." Jeff came up next to Peeta as Joy hung over his shoulder. I pushed up on Peeta's back so I could see Joy. She did the same on Jeff so we could look at each other as we talked.

"You know, we rocked that bull," Joy said.

"Yeah before you fell off," Peeta answered.

"Katniss pulled me off, thank you."

"That I did."

"So it's all her fault," Joy said with a smirk, I stuck my tongue out at her. The men walked us outside, the cool air chilled my skin.

"Jeff, if you fart, we will never be friends again," Joy said as she looked down at Jeff's butt. I fell on Peeta's back as I laughed, my body shifted with every step he took.

"Same goes for you, Joyful," Jeff answered, smacking Joy lightly on the tush.

"That was inappropriate," Peeta said looking towards Jeff. When we got close to the truck the men put us down on the ground. We said our goodbyes to each other and climbed into the truck. Peeta took his normal spot behind the wheel and Joy pushed me into the middle, next to Peeta. I looked up at him and smiled as his eyes looked into mine.

"Hey," he grinned.

"Hey," I said back to him.

"Let's be on our way," Joy said and Peeta started the truck. He rested his hand on my thigh as we drove in silence. Joy leaned up against the door and fell asleep as my own eyes began to droop. My head found its way to Peeta's shoulder and I let my eyes close. Peeta turned on the radio but left it quiet, just enough to soothe me. A deep voice filled the speakers and Peeta softly sang along to the country music.

"Time is love, gotta run,  
love to hand longer,  
but I got someone who waits,  
waits for me and right now  
she's where I need to be,  
time is love, gotta run"

His voice filled the truck and I felt myself become a victim to my sleep. I rested my body more onto his as he drove. He continued to sing quietly.

"I only get so many minutes,  
don't wanna spend 'em all on the clock  
in the time that we spent talkin'  
how many kisses have I lost?"

I grinned at the line and wondered to myself how many times have I missed kissing Peeta. My arm found its way around his middle and he kissed the top of my head, with that I fell asleep.


	8. Chapter 8

A loud crash of thunder shook me awake, it was followed by a flash of lightening that filled the room with light. I looked around the room and realized I wasn't in my room, I think I'm in Joy's. I felt the bed move and I turned over to see Joy sleeping next to me, another boom of thunder filled the room and her eyes opened.

"Goodmorning, Sunshine" I said and she gave me a yawn followed by a small smile. Rain pounded on the roof and it calmed my body.

"How are you in my bed?" she asked as she stretched.

"That's exactly what I was wondering."

"How did I get in my bed?" she laughed.

"This is just all kinds of confusing." We laid in her bed for about a half an hour before we decided to get out. Joy tossed me a sweatshirt and put one on herself before we left her room and went into the kitchen. Nana was already up, she rocked easily as she sipped her coffee and looked out the large window at the dairy. It was like watching a movie, so many things went on right in front of the house and so many people are constantly coming to the door to ask Nana something. Joy silently poured herself a cup of coffee and handed me one as well. We both took a seat on the opposite side of Nana.

"Good morning girls," she said with a sweet smile, "How was last night?"

"It was a lot of fun," Joy said giving me a quick wink which resulted in my cheeks becoming a light pink for a few seconds, "How did we both end up in my bed?"

"Your cousin put both of you there. He didn't want to wake either of you up so he carried each of you out of the truck and put you in bed."

"Oh," Joy said with a light chuckle. We all sat sipping our coffee and watching outside. Rain fell to the ground and a flash of thunder would fill the gloomy sky with a flash of light. Peeta suddenly came into view with mud covered boots. He shook a man's hand and talked to him as rain rolled off each of their waterproof jackets. The cows behind them paid no attention to the men, they just continued to fill their mouths with food and moo at each other. Nana watched her grandson and a soft smile never left her lips.

"Every time I see him working on the diary I can't help but think of Halston. He looks just like him and has his same demeanor. Everything about him makes me miss grandpa," Nana said to us.

"Why?" Joy asked her Nana with concern.

"Oh, Susie Q don't worry about ol' me. Peeta is just a spitting image of grandpa when I met him. I miss grandpa every day. He was my best friend. We were each other's partner in crime and shoulder to cry on. When I met grandpa he was about Peeta's age and it was the fourth of July. Grandpa always lived on a diary, he was born a farm boy, and I always lived in town. I was the baby of my family and I worked with my mom in my father's bakery. On the fourth of July everyone always sat in the park to watch fireworks. My parents always made numerous cookies for the event, I was in the bakery frosting the last batch of cookies when grandpa walked past the bakery window.

I had never seen him before but his parents had bought a cake from us once in a while. He was wearing a pair of dark jeans, dirty work boots and a button up shirt. His curly blonde hair complimented his tanned skin. When I looked up out of the window, his dark brown eyes met mine and he shot me a quick wink and smirk. I went back to frosting cookies and then started cleaning up the bakery so I could go watch the fireworks. My mother brought the cookies to the park and I went to fix my hair. I was just finishing putting my curls into a bow when my mother came in the back. She told me there was a young man outside who had asked my father and her if he could take me to the park to watch the fireworks.

I walked into the bakery and was greeted by the same blonde young man that had winked at me earlier. My mother nodded approvingly, she was friends with his mother, and next thing I knew I was at the park with a young man I had just met and he made me laugh like no other. We sat on the grass and watched the fireworks, when it got chilly he put his arm around me to keep me warm. Everything started from there, from grandpa wanting to watch fireworks with me."

"I never knew that," Joy said smiling.

"Now you do" Nana smiled back, "Grandpa made me love being on a dairy." We sat quietly watching the dairy through the window for a while for and then Joy got up to shower. After she left Peeta appeared outside in front of the window again. Slater ran next to him as he walked to one of the offices in the drizzle of ran. Peeta played with the dog as he walked out of our site once again.

"Slater is such a cute dog," I said to Nana.

"Halston and Peeta picked him out a few years ago. They decided I needed a dog to keep me company when Halston went into town," Nana paused before whispering to me, "My grandson told me all about last night, Katniss. And he is just like his grandfather and his grandfather always got what he wanted, he wouldn't quit until he had worked hard enough to win his prize."

I felt my cheeks warm up again as I looked at the tiny old woman. Her blue eyes sparkled, just like Peeta's when he had a secret. She grinned at me and I looked down at the floor, "What was Halston's greatest prize?" I asked looking back at her.

"He always told everyone his greatest prize was me. His brother once told me that the first time Halston's mother talked about me working at the bakery Halston said he was going to marry me because I sounded perfect."

"And he did marry you," I said grinning.

"Yes he did," she smiled at me.

"So you really know about last night?"

"Everything," she grinned, "That boy of mine, he won't quit until he's got what he wants and I know exactly what he wants. I've known for years."  
_

Around two the rain finally left the sky, but gloomy clouds still hung around. I walked outside in the pair of boots Peeta had given me to use and a waterproof jacket. The dairy air was thick and smelled of wet cows. Slater ran over to me barking and wagging his tail, I grabbed the dogs face and rubbed his ears. A few employees greeted me and gave Slater a pat on the head as they passed. One of the barns had its doors wide open Slater ran into the barn and I followed him inside of it. I walked quietly into the warm barn and was greeted by the warm smell of hay and the sound of a few animals munching away on an afternoon snack.

A quiet rough voice was calmly talking to a horse, I turned to see Peeta feeding one of the horses an apple and scratch behind its ear. Another horse stood on the opposite side of him and nudged him until he grabbed another apple and gave it to the creature. I grinned as I watched him softly talk to the large horses, he stayed in the pin and left the gate wide open but neither of the horses ran out. They just stood next to him, quietly giving him a whinny once in a while. Slater went into a pen with goats and sheep in it, he laid on the ground next to a few sheep and closed his eyes. One of the horses neighed and Peeta turned around towards me. He grinned and walked over to me. "Hey," he said.

"Hi," I said shyly back.

"How'd you sleep?"

"Pretty good."

"How'd you find me?"

"I followed Slater."

"He always seems to know where I am," He grinned, "Ever feed a horse?"

"No, they make me a little nervous cause they're so much bigger than me."

"Well, come here," he said pulling me into his side and walking back towards the two horses.

"They're really pretty horses," I said staring at them, the one a dark chestnut color with broad muscles and the other a spotted one with a few different colors.

"We've had them for years, the girl is named Daisy and the boy is Duke. They're really good horses," he said patting Duke. He handed me an apple and instructed me to hold my hand flat so that they wouldn't accidently bite me. Daisy took the apple out of my hand and gave me an enthusiastic whinny. I grinned at the horse and patted it softly, Peeta stood to the side and watched me. He crossed his arms over his chest and Duke nudged him for another apple, Peeta gently pushed the horses face away.

"I've got to get back to work," Peeta said grabbing my hand and leading me out of the pen. He closed the gate and whistled for Slater who came out of the other pen. "When I'm off we're going to go mudding."

"Mudding?"

"You'll see Katniss, you'll love it," he said as we got close to the barn doors. Right before I began to step out of the door he pulled me towards him and turned me so that my back was up against the barn wall and I was still in the barn with him. His arm rested up against the wall as the other one held onto my arm. His blue eyes stared into my grey ones and he bit his lip before smirking. His free hand reached up to my chin and pulled my face close to him, his lips greeted mine and my hands found their way around him. My lips met his again and he tangled his hand into my hair. Our lips danced together for a short while before he pulled away and smiled at me. I gave him one quick kiss on the lips again and he rested his forehead on mine. "I miss you already," he whispered.

"But I'm right here."

"And I've got another two hours of work."

"Two hours?"

"Mhm, but after those two hours are up were going mudding," he grinned and placed a kiss on my forehead.  
_

The sun is still in the sky but I know that within the two hours it'll be night time. Peeta came into the house and went into the basement to grab old clothing. I pulled my hair into a ponytail and waited for the clothes I need to wear. After getting dressed Peeta walked me to a building on the diary where two dirty four wheelers stood. He walked me over to one and told me to get on.

"You want me to drive this by myself?"

"It's easy Kat, promise."

"What do I do?"

"Start it. Then this is how you shift. You're gonna follow me, it'll take like ten minutes to get where we're going but once we're there you'll have fun," he placed a kiss on my cheek and walked over to the other vehicle and got on. It started up and I started mine up, we drove out of the garage and through a barn filled with cows eating. The cows stared at us as we drove through the barn and into another one. Once we drove through the barns we had to drive through a field of corn. The ground is uneven and wet and mud lightly splatters as we drive though the field. Eventually we get to a big empty field and Peeta pulls up towards me. He gets off his four wheeler and walks towards me.

"This is a big empty field," I say looking at him quizically.

"It's full of mud, numerous puddles of mud," he said as he pulled my hood over my head and tucked my hair into it.

"What are we gonna do?"

"Ride through the mud and get as dirty as possible," he smirked and placed a kiss on my lips.

"Why do you keep doing that?"

"Doing what?"

"Kissing me?"

"Cause I like kissing you," he said quickly kissing me again. He went back and started his four wheeler again. I watched as he drove through the mud, it flew everywhere and splattered as it hit the ground, I smirked as I drove through a puddle next. After a while of playing in the mud I grew confident in my driving and started going quicker. I came up next to Peeta quickly and sprayed mud onto him. He chuckled as he did the same to me. We spent an hour in the empty muddy field and by the time we returned to the house not an inch of us was clean. After spraying down the four wheelers Nana came out onto the deck with a camera.

"Smile," she hollered as she held the camera towards us. Peeta threw his arm around me and I wrapped my arm around his back as we smiled for Nana. After she walked into the house we both rinsed off and then headed into the house to shower and make dinner.


	9. Chapter 9

**Hey guys sorry I have been gone for SO long. I've been sick with a parasite basically all summer :( I'm gonna try to update more, but school starts next week so I'm not sure how that's gonna work out… yay college.**

_The story starts back up six months later, so it's March now_

It has been one week since Peeta got the call from his parents, the longest week I've ever had to experience. Mom got a few other bartenders to cover the night shift for Gale and I tonight. I grabbed a long black skirt out of my drawer and a black top to go with it. After putting the two items on I ran my fingers through my hair so my waves would fall a little nicer, my bedroom door slowly cracked open and Prim walked in. Her blonde hair was curled and she wore an old black dress of mine, her eyes are sad but she keeps a smile on her face.

"Hi," she softly said, barely an audible whisper.

"Hi," I said back to her. She glided into my room with the grace of a dancer. Once she sat next to me her head automatically rested onto my shoulder.

"Are you sad?"

"Of course I'm sad, little duck. Are you?"

"I'm sad cause people I love are sad."

"I know how you feel, I didn't really know her but the time I spent with her she treated me like her own."

"I love you, Katniss."

"I love you too."

Gale drove his truck in silence as I sat next to him, Prim and Rory whispered to each other once in a while as they sat in the back seat. We reached the church and Gale parked the truck, once we got out he wrapped an arm around me. I turned just in time to see Rory do the same thing to Prim, her body sank into his. Wordlessly we walked into the church, a sea of people dressed in black covered the pews. The four of us took a seat and waited for the funeral to begin.

Up in the front row I could see Joy, tears escaped her eyes as her hands tried to quickly wipe them away. On one side of her sat her brother and on the other side of her sat Peeta. He turned to his cousin and pulled her close to him, her shoulders shook as she cried into his shirt. I wiped a tear that ran down my cheek as my eyes scanned the room. A large picture of Nana sat in the front and numerous bouquets of flowers covered the room.

After the funeral ended everyone was invited to go to Peeta's parents house for a light dinner. The house is full of family and friends, everywhere I turn I can hear someone saying I'm sorry for your loss or she's in a better place now. The words bring back memories of my father's funeral. Prim and Rory stay together and Gale s talking to a tall blonde girl, my eyes scanned the room and suddenly I was pulled into a hug. I looked at Joy as tears ran down her cheeks, I hugged her tighter. No words were exchanged, they didn't need to be. She pulled me through the house and I ended up in the kitchen with her and Peeta's parents. Peeta's dad gave me a hug and so did his mother. It was a little shocking seeing Peeta's mother be affectionate, she was always the tough one the disciplinarian.

"Good to see you Katniss," Peeta's dad said to me and his mom nodded in agreement.

"It's good to see you two as well, I just wish it wasn't under these circumstances."

"So do we."

I talked to Peeta's parents for a while and when the night got late I left with Gale. We went straight to Duke's and sat down at a large table in the bar. Prim sat right next to Rory and the blonde girl Gale had been talking to at Peeta's sat next to Gale. The girl introduced herself as Johanna, a family friend of the Mellark's. We stayed in the bar till closing time, mom had come to sit with us as well. Peeta and Joy walked into the bar right as it closed. I hadn't talked to Peeta all day, when he walked in he walked over to me and wrapped his arms around my body.

I woke up with a migraine and my stomach turning. My mind played back last night, well what I could remember about last night. After Duke's closed we stayed in the parking lot drinking till everything was okay. A soft snore to my left made me turn my head and I then realized that I wasn't in my bed, but in Peeta's instead. His chest raised and fell with each breath he took and his messy blonde curls framed his face. A cool breeze came through the window and I turned towards Peeta, resting my head on his chest. His eyes fluttered open and a grin tugged at his lips as he wrapped his arms around me.

"Good morning baby," his thick morning voice whispered, it sent chills through my body as it always does. The realization that Peeta is with me still feels surreal.

"Good morning," I said placing a kiss on his cheek, "How are you feeling?"

"Well, I'm sad and I think I will be for a while, but I've got you."

"What's gonna happen to Nana's dairy?"

"My dad told me last night that she sold it to Jim, her employee. He worked for her for years and always said he wanted a dairy eventually."

"So it's gone?"

"Basically," he said quietly, "But Nana wanted to give everyone money from the dairy. We went over her will yesterday. I think that was the hardest part, right then it really sunk in that she's gone." I hugged him tighter and his eyes filled with tears that he wouldn't let fall.


	10. Chapter 10

**I know I've seemed to disappear from the face of the planet, I promise I'm back for good. Life has seemed to be getting the best of me lately and I'm slowly finding ways to get back to writing, like starting a blog. This is the blog, if anyone is interested. Without further ado, I give you chapter ten.**

I'll never be good with words; they just can't seem to find a place out of my mouth. I'm not sure what I'm supposed to say or how I'm supposed to act in this situation. I don't pity Peeta; I know he wouldn't want me to. He never pitied me when my dad died, so I won't pity him now. My arms stay tightly around him, his body rises and falls slightly with each breath I take. His grip on me has lessened and soft snores come from his mouth. I hear heavy footsteps in the kitchen and also a pair of light ones. The light ones seem to dance around the big ones, I grin at the thought of Gale bringing Johanna home last night. Slowly I shimmy my body out from under Peeta and grab one of his hoodies. The fabric hangs on my body like a short dress, covering my pajama shorts.

The door opened and closed without a sound, "Good morning Sunshine," Gale whispered, causing me to jump. He covered his laugh as I shoved him, Johanna watched from the kitchen and she paid attention to a skillet at the same time. "Good morning Johanna," I said walking into the kitchen.

"Good morning. Are you hungry?"

"Not really."

"Can't eat, huh Katnip?" Gale said taking a seat at the bar top across from Johanna.

"How'd you know?"

"Cause we're the same person. Neither of us knows what to say to Peeta to make it better, but we hate seeing him upset. I know, you never thought I was a nice guy."

"Shut up, Gale" I grinned as I took a seat next to him. Johanna placed a plate of food in front of me and then one in front of Gale, "You've gotta eat something."

"I know," my stomach grumbled at the smell of eggs and bacon. Gale handed me a fork and Johanna took a seat next to him. We ate in silence as I bit into a piece of bacon. "You know, we should keep her. She makes good food," I said motioning to Johanna, she grinned and took another bite of food.

"Yeah maybe we should, I mean you can only eat so many cookies and cakes till your insides turn to sugar" Gale said pulling her stool closer to him.

"How long have you known Peeta?" I questioned Johanna as we sat on the couch.

"Since before I could talk. Our mother's have always been close friends, they were planning our wedding when we were still small enough to take baths together," she laughed. "However Peeta and I have never had feelings for each other, I mean you can't date the boy who you used to take baths with. It's just wrong."

"I guess you have a point," I laughed with her. "How come we've never met?"

"Because the military moved my family too much for me and Peeta to stay close. Our mothers emailed and called each other at least once a week, they still do. But when you're five you just move on and make new friends. My mother," she snickered, "would always make a point to tell me if Peeta had or didn't have a girlfriend. She was positive that we'd some how be together, but then she told me he was dating you and she told me I lost my chance."

"She did not."

"I swear Katniss," she said turning her body towards me, "She told me that he's a sucker for you."

"Well I'm a sucker for him."

"As you should be, I mean it's not every day you come by a boy who can make cheese buns."

"You like them to?"

"I think I gain ten pounds every time I visit cause of those stupid rolls."

"How long are you in town for?"

"Well it's funny, my mother decided that she wants to stay here. She misses her friends, especially since my father died."

"Oh, I'm sorry."

"It's fine. So like I was saying it looks like I'm staying here for a while."

"Well I'm sure Gale will like that."

"Like what?" Gale asked as he walked into the room.

"Nothing," I said getting up, "We will finish this conversation later, Johanna."

Peeta quietly picks things up in his room as I sit with my legs crossed on the bed. He doesn't say a word to me, he just silently moves around the room placing things in their rightful spots. I pull my braided hair over my shoulder, picking at the split ends, one by one. His footsteps stop in front of me, I look up at him and he quickly looks away. Once again he begins to clean things in silence, the air in his room seems to weigh a hundred pounds. I can feel my lungs slowly take in air as I look back at my hair. I should probably get it trimmed soon; it's been a while since I trimmed it nice and even. It would be nice to have all of it the same length and for these split ends to go away. Peeta sits next to me and places his head in his hands.

I scoot closer to him and rest my head on his shoulder, taking in his cinnamon sugar scent. He doesn't look at me but his lips open like he's going to say something, yet he doesn't. I pull his hand into mine, placing my fingers in-between his. My mind searches for the right words to say, but again none come out. No matter how hard I try to comfort him, no words come to my mind. I lean my body into his, silently telling him I'm still here for him. He sucks in a painful, short breath right as I feel a hot tear land on my hand. His shoulders shake slightly with each breath as a few more tears land on our hands. I let go of his hand and get off the bed to crouch in front of him. My eyes feel wet with tears as his red ones look at me, another tear slowly making its way down his cheek.

"Peeta, I love you," is all I'm able to get out before he pulls me into his chest.


End file.
